Technical Program Manager - Customer Success (m/f/d)

Advantest; Böblingen; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Advantest in Böblingen, Germany, seeks a senior professional to lead customer-focused technical programs and escalations, coordinating between customers and multiple internal teams to ensure successful execution.

You will define KPIs, drive data-driven actions, and translate complex data into executive-level insights while supporting metrology initiatives and strategic discussions on future technology needs.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Semiconductor Engineering, or related field; equivalent professional experience considered.
• Experience in a system-driven environment combining hardware and software products.
• Experience managing technical projects, programs, or customer-facing initiatives in a complex engineering environment.
• Experience working directly with global semiconductor customers.
• Experience leading technical customer escalations and driving resolution with cross-functional teams.
• Strong analytical skills with KPIs and performance metrics.
• Experience with RCA, 8D, Six Sigma, or similar problem-solving methodologies.
• Technical understanding of measurement systems, metrology, and equipment performance analysis.

Responsibilities

• Lead customer-focused technical programs, projects, and escalations with clear scope and milestones.
• Interface between customers, engineering, service, quality, and management for successful program execution.
• Define, monitor, and analyze customer KPIs to drive corrective actions and improve fleet performance.
• Lead problem-solving activities using RCA, 8D, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Support metrology and measurement initiatives to improve system performance and product quality.
• Translate technical data into management insights and executive dashboards.
• Facilitate customer reviews, workshops, and strategic discussions on operational excellence.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Systems thinking

Problem-solving (8D, RCA)

Data analytics

Education

Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Semiconductor Engineering, or related field

Tools

Power BI

Spotfire

Tableau

Job description

• Lead customer-focused technical programs, projects, and escalations, ensuring clear scope, milestones, timely communication, root cause identification, and sustainable corrective actions.
• Act as the key interface between customers, engineering, service, quality, and management teams to ensure successful execution of customer programs.
• Define, monitor, and analyze customer-centric KPIs to identify performance gaps and drive data-driven corrective and preventive actions that improve fleet performance, operational efficiency, system utilization, and equipment availability.
• Lead structured problem-solving activities using RCA, 8D, and cross-functional collaboration to resolve complex customer issues and drive continuous improvement.
• Support metrology and measurement-related initiatives to improve system performance, product quality, and process capability in customer environments.
• Translate complex technical and operational data into management-level insights, recommendations, and executive dashboards that drive measurable customer value, productivity, and business impact.
• Facilitate customer reviews, technical workshops, and strategic discussions focused on operational excellence, reliability improvement, and future technology requirements.

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Semiconductor Engineering, or related field. Equivalent professional experience will also be considered.
• Proven experience in a system-driven environment combining hardware and software products.
• Experience managing technical projects, programs, or customer-facing initiatives in a complex engineering environment.
• Experience working directly with global semiconductor customers.
• Experience leading technical customer escalations and driving resolution of complex issues in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Strong analytical skills with experience defining, interpreting, and steering KPIs and performance metrics.
• Experience with structured problem-solving methodologies such as 8D, RCA, Six Sigma, or similar approaches.
• Technical understanding of measurement systems, metrology, equipment performance analysis, system diagnostics, or process capability evaluation.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to communicate effectively from engineering experts to executive management.
• Experience working in international and cross-cultural environments with strong stakeholder management, business acumen, and cross-functional networking skills.
• Willingness to travel internationally (approximately 10%).

Requirements (Nice to Have)

• Knowledge of the semiconductor industry, semiconductor manufacturing, or Automated Test Equipment (ATE).
• Understanding of semiconductor test methodologies and system performance optimization.
• Experience with data analytics and visualization tools such as Power BI, Spotfire, Tableau, or similar platforms.
• Familiarity with reliability engineering, operational excellence, or quality management systems.
• Understanding of the Advantest V93000 tester platform.
• Certification in PMP, Agile, Scrum, Lean Six Sigma, or comparable methodologies.
• German language skills.